8 Easy Online Guitar Lessons for Beginners

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Updated on 12/28/18

The following free guitar lessons have been created with the beginner in mind. New guitarists should begin at lesson one, spending at least one week learning the exercises and songs in that lesson before moving on. Learning to relax while playing guitar helps immeasurably, so be sure to have fun!

01

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Introduction to Learning Guitar

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Your first guitar lesson starts with the basics. You'll learn how to hold a guitar and pick, the names of parts of the guitar, a scale, and a few chords. By the end of this beginner lesson, you'll even be able to play a few simple songs.

02

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Developing Finger Coordination and Strength

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This guitar lesson picks up where the first one left off. You'll learn about scales, names of the open strings, minor chords, and strumming patterns. By the conclusion of this lesson, you'll be able to play a song by the Eagles.

03

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Learning Open Chords and Strumming

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There is a lot more instruction for beginner guitarists in lesson three, including learning a blues scale, a new strumming pattern, and three new chords. By the end of the lesson, you'll be able to play songs by Pearl Jam and the Animals.

04

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Learning the Basic Barre Chords

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In this lesson, you'll delve into sharps and flats, learning how to play a 12-bar blues and a B minor chord. This guitar tutorial also features audio clips you can play along to, plus instructions for playing classics by Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton.

05

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Learning Power Chords

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In the fourth installment of these guitar lessons, we learn about power chords, note names on the sixth and fifth strings, and new strumming patterns. With this knowledge, you'll be ready to tackle Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit."

06

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Learning the 7th Chords

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In part six of this series designed for beginner guitarists, you learn strumming patterns, barre chord shapes, seventh chords, and a chromatic scale. You'll also find video and audio clips to strum along with.

07

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Learning Major Scale Patterns and Sus4 Chords

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In part seven of the beginner guitar lesson series, you'll get some practice with a complex strumming technique, a two-octave major scale pattern, and sus4 chords. (Yep, that's what they're called!)

08

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Learning 7th Barre Chords and Chord Inversions

grandfather with boy playing guitar — Blend Images - KidStock | Getty Images

For your final guitar lesson, you'll work on more advanced playing techniques: seventh barre chord shapes, major chord inversions, and more strumming patterns. Congratulations! Once you've finished this guitar lesson, you won't be a beginner any longer.

Hope You've Enjoyed These Beginner Lessons

If you're just beginning, you'll probably take a month or two to work your way through these guitar lessons. Remember to practice regularly, but don't be too hard on yourself either. Learning how to play the guitar should be fun!